The Lying Life of Adults by Elena Ferrante tells the story of Giovanna, a young girl growing up in Naples, Italy. When Giovanna overhears her father saying that she's becoming ugly, like her estranged aunt, Vittoria, she becomes obsessed with meeting her. Giovanna's curiosity leads her to discover the dark secrets of her family's past.
As Giovanna gets to know Vittoria, she becomes increasingly disillusioned with the adults in her life. She discovers that the people she has always looked up to, including her parents and their friends, are not as perfect as she had believed. Giovanna's relationship with her best friend, Angela, becomes strained as the two girls grow apart.
Throughout the book, Giovanna navigates the complexities of adolescence. She grapples with her changing body and sexuality and the expectations placed on her as a young woman in Italian society. Giovanna's interactions with the people in her life reveal the class tensions in Naples and the power dynamics between men and women.
As the novel progresses, Giovanna's relationships become increasingly fraught with tension and mistrust. She finds herself caught between the different worlds of her parents and Vittoria, unable to reconcile the conflicting versions of truth that they present to her. In the end, Giovanna is forced to confront the lies told to her and make sense of the complex web of relationships that she has become entangled in.
In the novel's final pages, Giovanna returns to the apartment where she grew up, finding her parents waiting for her. The tension that had existed between them throughout the book has dissipated somewhat, and they seem to be trying to understand each other better. Giovanna realizes that she has a new sense of empathy and compassion for her parents and that they are imperfect but ultimately well-intentioned.
